Our Blog Posts

How to Become A Skillful “Teacher of Teachers”

There is a range of skills, or areas of performance, required to become a skillful facilitator. Depending on your professional responsibilities, different skills are required to effectively execute the demands of the job. In this blog post, DeNelle West, RBT Director of Professional Development, outlines a framework of those skills.

Get Students to Believe In Themselves: Read Article by Jon Saphier in the February 2017 Phi Delta Kappan Online!

Learning About Racism and White Privilege

By Jon Saphier - September 29, 2016: Issues of race and the experience of people of color in America are more central in our national conversation and the media than I can remember since the Civil Rights Era of the 50s and 60s. Bringing this experience to the surface is a good thing.

Time to Be Tackling Racial Bias in the Classroom

Jon Saphier - May 24, 2016: Racism is a social construct that operates as a system of oppression based on race. It operates everywhere, even inside the best intentioned of educators. Racism is built on stereotypes and expressed in various forms of oppression.

Why Teachers Need Cultural Proficiency

Jon Saphier - May 20, 2016: Changing demographics have made a “should” into a “must” for American teachers. Cultural proficiency produces behaviors that acknowledge and value the culture of those different from oneself. It develops out of being curious and wanting to learn about other people and their cultures.

A Short History of Ed Reform

The Mirage Report

Jon Saphier - September 3, 2015: "The Mirage: Confronting the Hard Truth About Our Quest for Teacher Development" ... is a study of teacher professional development that surfaces stark data about the failure of an $18 billion dollar investment to have much influence ... on improving most teachers’ practice.

Case Studies in Great School Leadership: Brockton High School

Jon Saphier - August 24, 2015: Sue Szachowicz was a great school leader. When Brockton High School went from awful student test scores and graduation rates to national awards and a front-page story in the New York Times, analysts provided all kinds of explanations...The core reason was due to a particular kind of leadership. Sue exhibited vulnerability and strength at the same time; she elevated others who had the same combination of characteristics; and together they mobilized meaningful collective action across the school.

Lessons in Leadership: Be Vulnerable and Strong

Jon Saphier - August 10, 2015: Over the last 40 years from working directly with principals, instructional coaches, and central office personnel who supervise principals, there is one lesson about leadership that rises above all the others: the best leaders are vulnerable and strong at the same time.